Everything about J.J. Watt’s performance Sunday sent a message to Andrew Luck: Not today. Not in my house.

The Houston Texans took the AFC South crown and Watt ruled. Ten tackles. Three sacks. One forced fumble during the Texans’ 29-17 victory. The forced fumble was particularly crucial, coming against Mewelde Moore, who looked like he was about to score from the Texans’ 1-yard line. What looked like an impending Colts touchdown became a huge turnover. Watt was a squatter in the Colts’ backfield and they couldn’t find a way to evict him.

The performance was fitting. Watt is the Texans’ most valuable player, more indispensable than Arian Foster and Andre Johnson, probably more irreplaceable than quarterback Matt Schaub.

Remember, the Texans won their first playoff game last season with T.J. Yates at quarterback. Watt was the defensive star of that game, scoring a touchdown in what was something of a national coming-out party for him and the Texans.

Since then, Watt has become high profile. In just his second NFL season, he’s one of the league’s most dominant players—a defensive end who is the face of his franchise, with endorsements to go with his sacks. Watt likes the spotlight, but what he wants more is a Super Bowl ring. The Texans got a taste of the playoffs last season, but they hope this season’s highlights are just beginning.

"We don’t care who gets the credit, we don’t care how it happens, we just like to win," Watt told reporters. "There’s a lot more fun ahead, so I hope everybody’s not starting their celebrations too early.

"When you’re laying in bed at night as a kid, when I’m laying in bed at night the night before a game, you dream about first-and-10, making a three-yard tackle (for loss), you dream about making a sack to end the game, you dream about forcing a fumble on the goal line. I’ve been preparing my whole life for this type of stuff."

The Texans know what it’s like to play without Schaub, Foster or Johnson. They never want to find out what it’s like to play without Watt.

Watt is an every-down defensive end, not one of those guys who gets sacks while taking other plays off. Several of Watt’s best plays Sunday were tackles for losses on running plays. After dumping Vick Ballard for a loss in the second quarter, Watt got up and shook his head to say 'No.' He plays to the crowd, letting you know when he’s made a good play. But Watt is blue collar more than red carpet. Opponents and teammates respect him, even if they can’t block him.

Watt doesn’t have to sack a quarterback to rattle him. When he gets in the vicinity, quarterbacks know it. You could see Luck’s feet start to shuffle Sunday whenever Watt entered the neighborhood. Several of Luck’s passes sailed off target when Watt was bearing down, and that was not a coincidence.

Even when quarterbacks escape the pocket, Watt has the closing speed to track them down. That happened to Luck on Sunday. He saw Watt coming before one of his sacks, but when Luck started running, the gap between them disappeared and Luck was hauled down. It's almost not fair that a defensive end as strong as Watt can be so fast.

Luck hung in there Sunday, throwing two touchdown passes and drawing the Colts within six points late in the game. If not for Watt’s presence, Luck may have pulled off another comeback. But Watt and the Texans’ defense wouldn’t allow it.

Having a premier pass rusher like Watt gives the Texans a weapon for which any playoff opponent will have to game-plan. The Patriots dominated Watt and the Texans last week in New England, but there could be a playoff rematch in Houston in January, and the Texans would welcome it.

"Plain and simple, Monday night (against New England) we got embarrassed," Watt said. "They played great. The thing I’m most proud about with this team is that we understand that one win is one win, and one loss is one loss. We let that go."

No quarterback wants to deal with a pass rusher like Watt. Not Brady. Not Peyton Manning.

Pass rushers can take over games, just like quarterbacks. Watt took over on Sunday. It has taken Watt just two seasons in Houston to become a dominant player. Maybe one day, Luck will be the best player in the AFC South. But right now, that title and the division title both belong to Watt.